Kunming Transportation - Getting There

 See Kunming Flights

The city has four railway stations, and two of them are mainly used.

One is the Kunming Railway Station (Nanyao Station), about four kilometers (about 2.5 miles) from the center of the city, which would take about 10 yuan within 15 minutes by Taxi to. Trains to Dali, Lijiang, Yuxi etc., run every day. The Ticket Booking Office is at No. 19, Kunshi Lu, hours of operation is from 8:00 to 17:30.

Entrance of Kunming Railway Station

Another is Kunming South Railway Station, 17 miles (28 km) from Railway Station, is located at Wujiaying in Chenggong District. This station will operate bullet trains to/from major cities in China, such as Shanghai, Nanning, Hangzhou, Yiwu etc. after it is put into use by the end of 2016.

 Major domestic rail lines from Kunming to:

 See detailed Kunming Train Schedule

 Major international rail lines under construction from Kunming to:

Second is the North Railway Station, about three kilometers (about 1.9 miles) north of the city center. This station is important for visitors who plan to go to Vietnam for here you can make a trip further to Hanoi (two departures every week on Friday and Sunday).

 Important notice: It is impossible to get your Vietnam Visa in this city. Be sure to obtain your Vietnam visa in Guangzhou, Beijing, or other major city in advance if you are planning a trip to Vietnam.

Yunnan Province is vast; train journey requires much more time than air travel. However, if you are not in a hurry, train journey offers beautiful scenery along the way.

You can book tickets at the railway station ticket office, which are open from 8:00 to 17:30.
 

Highway transportation has developed rapidly. Highways radiate to places inside and outside Yunnan Province, as well as to neighboring countries. You can also choose long-distance buses to reach the city from Beijing (National Highway 108), Lanzhou (213), Shanghai (320), Fuzhou (324) or other cities.
While there are many bus stations in the city, for safety we recommend that passengers get board at well-operated stations.

 West Bus Station
The West (Xi Bu) Bus Station was built in 2008, which was originally known as the Xi Shan Bus Station. Now, it operates 954 long-distance buses on 44 lines, radiating to Dali, Lijiang, Diqing (Shangri-La), Chuxiong, Baoshan, Dehong, Lincang, Puer and Nujiang.
 Time Schedule (only for reference)

To	Departure Time	Duration	Ticket Fare
Dali	07:20~23:00 every 5~20 minutes	4.5 hours	CNY107/CNY138
Lijiang	08:00, 08:50, 09:30, 09:40, 10:30, 10:50, 11:20, 11:50, 12:10, 12:50, 13:00, 13:30, 13:50, 14:40, 21:00 (sleeper-cabin), 22:00	7~9 hours	CNY191~CNY229/CNY177 (sleeper-cabin)
Shangri-La	08:30, 09:30; 18:30, 19:30, 20:00, 20:30 (sleeper-cabin)	10~12 hours	CNY216~CNY243/CNY212 (sleeper-cabin)
Deqin	19:00 (sleeper-cabin)	15 hours	CNY267 (sleeper-cabin)

 Location: Kunzhou Road, Xishan District
 Transportation: buses of Nos. 80 (from Main Railway Station), 82, 148, 151, 153, C65

 South Bus Station
South (Nan) Bus Station was built in 2009, mainly operating buses running on Kunming-Yuxi (Gaocang) Expressway. This expressway belongs to the National Highway No.213 and is the start point of the Kunming-Bangkok International Way. Now, there are scheduled buses to and from Puer, Xishuangbanna, Yuxi, Honghe Prefecture (Jianshui, Shiping, Yuanyang, Lvchun, Honghe) and Laos.
 Time Schedule (only for reference)

To	Departure Time	Distance	Ticket Fare
Jinghong	08:00~22:00 every 10~20 minutes	590km	CNY226/CNY259 (sleeper-cabin)
Puer	07:40~22:00 every 20~30 minutes	440km	CNY182/CNY197 (sleeper-cabin)
Jianshui	07:30~16:30 every 30 minutes;  16:45 (slpeer-cabin), 17:15, 18:00, 19:10, 20:30	220km	CNY83/CNY67 (sleeper-cabin)
Yuanyang	10:20;  12:30, 13:30 (sleeper-cabin)	322km	CNY140/CNY139 (sleeper-cabin)
Mengla	10:30; 19:00, 19:30, 18:00 (sleeper-cabin)	725km	CNY253/CNY312 (sleeper-cabin)
Mohan	20:00	789	CNY338 (sleeper-cabin)
Vientiane (Laos)	18:00	1,421km	CNY587 (sleeper-cabin)
Luang Prabang (Laos)	18:30	1,100km	CNY398 (sleeper-cabin)

 Location: cross of Guangfu Road and Middle Dongcheng Avenue, Guandu District
 Transportation: buses of Nos. 149, 165, 178, 154, C4, C5, C6, C7, C12, C13, 186

 North Bus Station
The North (Bei) Bus Station operates long-distance buses running to the northeast of Yunnan Province, such as Qujing, Zhaotong, Xundian, Songming, Luquan and Dongchuan.
 Location: Longtou Street, Panlong District
 Transportation: buses of Nos. 25, 92

 East Bus Station
The East (Dong Bu) Bus Station were built to service buses to and from the east and southeast of Yunnan Province along Kunming-Shilin Expressway. Passengers could take buses to Shilin County, Yiliang County, Wenshan Prefecture, Luliang County, Shizong County and Luoping County.
 Location: Panlong District
 Transportation: bus No. 28

 Northwest Bus Station
From Northwest (Xi Bei Bu) Bus Station, passengers could take buses departing to the northwest of Yunnan Province. There are buses running along National Highway No.108 to Dingwu, Yuanmou, Yongren, Huaping, Fuming, Luquan as well as buses to Anning, Yimen and Chuxiong along National Highway No.320.
 Location: High-tech Industrial Development Zone
 Transportation: bus No. 8

Further Reading: 
How to Travel between Kunming and Dali
How to Travel between Kunming and Lijiang
How to Travel between Kunming and Shangri-la